A lawyer for Wendy Williams’ bank has claimed in court that she is an “incapacitated person” who cannot handle her own financial affairs and argued that she needs guardianship to avoid her from being the victim of “undue influence and financial exploitation”.
A lawyer for her bank, Wells Fargo, sent a letter to New York County Supreme Court, Judge Arlene Bluth, seeking a hearing to discuss her finances.
According to reports, Williams’s former financial advisor, Lori Schiller, claimed that Williams was “of unsound mind”, which led to Wells Fargo blocking the New Jersey-born presenter’s access to her accounts in mid-January this year.
Williams’s lawyers disputed Schiller’s claim, and on February 4, 2022, she accused Wells Fargo of overstepping its authority.
Now the bank has responded, with David H. Pikus representing Wells Fargo, writing in court documents that they were worried about Wendy Williams, and wanted a professional to oversee her finances.
Pikus in the court documents wrote: “We are concerned about [Williams’] situation”.
“It is our hope that the Guardianship Part [of the court] will imminently appoint a temporary guardian or evaluator to review the situation and ensure that [Williams’] affairs are being properly handled”.
Pikus
Pikus told the judge that the bank “has strong reason to believe” Williams is “the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation”. He requested to keep the case “under seal” to “preserve the confidential nature”.
Pikus claimed Schiller “recently witnessed signs of exploitation, including Williams” own expressed apprehensions’ about the people around her. Pikus did not clarify who he meant. He wrote that “other independent third parties who know [Williams] well… share these concerns”.
Williams’ lawyer, Celeste McCaw wrote in response to the letter that her Emmy-winning client “denies that she is the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation”.
McCaw also requested a temporary restraining order against Wells Fargo to restrain the bank “from freezing [Williams’] accounts and interfering with her right to access her financial assets and statements”.
The 57-year-old chat show host has rarely been seen in public since she stopped presenting her show in July 2021. In September she was taken to a New York hospital for psychiatric evaluation, and the future of ‘The Wendy Williams Show’ hanged in the balance, with multiple famous faces stepping into her shoes to host the show. However just recently, the team announced, Sherri Shepherd, as the new “permanent guest host” to replace her.
It can be recalled that the trailblazing Williams launched her eponymous show in 2008, and now in its 13th season, it remains one of the biggest hits in daytime TV history.
The show was built around Williams, then a popular radio host known for her no-holds-barred take on celebrity gossip.
The show has been deeply personal, charting the end of her 22-year marriage to television producer Kevin Hunter in 2019, when she discovered he was having an affair and fathered a child with his mistress.
Read also: Ghana Retains Lead as Africa’s Largest Gold Producer- USGS Data Shows
